Epileptic Power Supply: NANS Protest In Osogbo

Members of National Association of Nigerian Students, Southwest, Zone ‘D’ on Wednesday in their numbers took to the streets in Osogbo, Osun State to peacefully protest erratic power supply to campuses and communities in the Southwest of the country.

The students with placards and banners carrying various inscriptions such as: “Restore our power infrastructures in Southwest”, “Electricity is our right”, “Fix our power now”, “Deliver reliable Power to the Southwest”, “No more darkness in our campuses & communities” among others occupied the popular Olaiya junction causing gridlock during the duration of the protest.

Apparently worried about the epileptic power supply across the Southwest, the students threatened massive protest if government fails to meet their demand promptly saying that the situation on ground requires urgent attention.

Speaking with newsmen at the venue, the coordinator for NANS, Zone ‘D’ Comrade Josiah Adeyemo, lamented the adverse effect of the electricity crisis particularly on students adding that the situation has affected academic and other activities on campuses and in communities across the zone.

He said, “We have come out today to register our voices, our displeasure in the current electricity crisis that we are facing nationwide. In recent times before now, we have addressed this issue in several press conferences, where we explained the issues our students are facing in our campuses, in our society regarding electricity.

“You cannot expect our students to thrive where there is darkness, you cannot deny the fact that electricity is one of the basic needs that students need to have successful activities in their campuses, since we have this press conferences and there have been no result, either the federal government, Ministry of Power, or any other parastatals that is concerned, we have decided to come here on the street to register our concerns to let the whole world know that we are agitating not just for ourselves but the whole society and Nigeria as a whole.

“It should be noted that we are not anti government, this protest is deliberately constructed after series of consultations, consolidations have been made, and the entire student leadership decided it is due time to take our voices to the streets and we also like to plead once again to the federal government, Mr President, Bola Ahmed Asiwaju, he has been doing a good work, in the federal constituency.”

Adeyemi noted that although Nigerian students have been beneficiaries to President Bola Tinubu initiatives alongside uninterrupted academic calendars yet, electricity which is one of the leading basic amenities cannot be sidelined and need to be prioritised.